bedtime stories
by ED68
Summary: Six year old Sasuke Uchiha refuses to sleep without a bedtime story but can his older brother find a story and tell it so as to satisfy the little Uchiha?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey there!**

**This is a story I wrote with the help of my sister (lilmissperfect14). I love Itachi and Sasuke! They are so adorable together.**

**Disclaimer: yes, I own naruto. That is why I'm writing FANfiction about it because I'm a fan of my own creation. Seriously, this is so stupid. Like duh I don't own naruto!**

Bedtime stories

Chapter 1: Sasuke-kun wants a bedtime story!

"Hey, Onii-san," Sasuke inquired from where he was sitting on his brother's back, his arms wrapped around his neck.

Itachi turned his head slightly to look at Sasuke.

"What is it, Sasuke?" he asked.

Sasuke didn't answer immediately. Instead he looked around the street they were walking down curiously with big black eyes. It was late evening, the sun had almost set and both Uchiha brothers were walking home from the training grounds after a rigorous work-out.

Well, at least Itachi was walking, Sasuke was doing no more than sitting on his back.

"I'm tired. When are we going to get home?" Sasuke finally answered.

Itachi smiled, "We're almost there."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes sleepily, "Cool."

And just as Itachi had said, five minutes later, both brothers entered the house and Itachi took Sasuke up to his room and laid him down on the bed.

"Are you sure you want to go to bed this early?" Itachi asked. "You haven't even had dinner yet."

Sasuke nodded his head cutely.

"Yes, I don't want food. I'm not hungry, just tired," He answered.

"Well, alright then," Itachi said smiling and ruffling his brother's hair.

Then he got up and was about to leave when Sasuke stopped him.

"Onii-san?" he asked.

Itachi stopped in the doorway, "Yes?"

"Aren't you going to tell me a bedtime story first? Kaa-san always tells me a bedtime story before I sleep," the little Uchiha explained.

Itachi froze.

"Bedtime story?...Sasuke…..uh…." Itachi stammered which was very unlike him.

Ok, that was not his department.

Oh, why did his parents have to go out the one night Sasuke decided he wanted to go to bed early? WHY?

Normally, he would refuse to go to bed till at least twelve and now he wanted to go to bed at eight! Under normal circumstances, if his parents were home, around about ten Mikoto would try and sweet-talk Sasuke into going to bed. He'd refuse, of course that is until Mikoto told him a story. Which was why, Itachi knew that if he didn't tell Sasuke a story, he would NEVER go to sleep and Itachi would never hear the end of it.

But a bedtime story? Could he possibly do it? Mikoto had never told him stories as a child considering the fact he didn't even have much of a childhood to begin with. Sure, he knew a few fairytales. He'd heard his fan-girls rant on about how he was their prince and how he was so noble as to save them if they ever got kidnapped by an evil witch and were held prisoner in a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. Perhaps they were really nice girls despite the fact that they stalked him but it they did get kidnapped by an evil-witch (which was very unlikely) he wouldn't save them. He had much more important matters to attend to like painting his finger nails. Well, that and missions. Not to mention, take care of his little brother, who was currently demanding a bedtime story. Speaking of which, what was he going to tell him?

He only knew a few fairytales but he doubted he'd be able to tell them right. He sighed. He didn't have a choice. He was going to have to talk Sasuke into going to bed without a story. It wouldn't be easy but he'd have to try. It was essential Sasuke went to sleep because if he didn't he'd run about the house playing and he wouldn't be able to prepare for the mission he had tomorrow.

So, he turned around to face his little brother, who was sitting upon the bed, his black eyes huge, waiting expectantly for a reply.

Itachi sighed and walked over to his brother.

"Sasuke, I can't tell you a bedtime story," Itachi said simply.

Sasuke's face fell.

"But…Onii-san…" Sasuke protested giving Itachi his oh-so-adorable puppy dog face which he often used a s a weapon to get his mom to give him cookies.

Not just any cookies either, the big chocolate chip kind.

Looking at the adorable sight in front of him, Itachi's heart melted.

"Very well then," Itachi said, "I suppose a short story couldn't hurt."

Sasuke smiled, "You're the best, Onii-san!"

Itachi sighed. Now which story could he possibly tell? A fairy tale seemed appropriate but which one? Finally he decided on sleeping beauty and so the story telling began.

**Well, what do you think?**

**Remember, reviews + me=**

**So pwease review?**

**Oh, by the way if this is of interest to anyone, my sister and I got this idea while I was trying to make up a story to tell her and it wasn't really working out…..=P**


	2. Chapter 2

**ok, hi there, again! i'm so sorry i haven't updated in ages but i was had such a hard time with this chapter. i just couldn't decide what to write! anyway, i hope you like it!**

**Disclaimer: you and i both know i don't own Naruto and never will, except maybe in my dreams.**

Chapter 2: fairy tales

"Once, long ago, there lived a king and queen who longed for a baby daughter. When, after many years of marriage, a beautiful child was born to them, everyone in the kingdom rejoiced," Itachi began.

"The king and queen invited-"

Itachi was cut off by Sasuke.

"Wait a second, Onii-san. This is a princess story!" Sasuke said outraged.

Itachi sweat dropped.

"Yes it is. Is something the matter?" he asked.

"I hate princess stories! Princesses are for girls! And besides even if I didn't hate princesses, I wouldn't like this story. I already know it and its lame! I don't want to hear about some stupid princess who falls asleep for a hundred years! She doesn't even age! It's stupid! I don't like it! I won't hear this story! I just won't!" Sasuke said covering his ears with a pillow.

Itachi sighed.

This was just not his day. Sasuke was refusing to listen to the only story he could tell him without ruining it since it was the one he knew best.

What was he going to do now?

"Alright Sasuke, calm down. If you don't want to listen to this story, you don't have to," Itachi said trying to calm the little Uchiha down.

Sasuke removed the pillow from his ears.

"Really? I don't have to listen to it? You'll tell me another story?" asked Sasuke immediately brightening up.

Itachi looked hesitant. Well, there were a few more fairy tales he knew but could he tell them?

"Well, I suppose I could," Itachi finally said.

Sasuke smiled, "Yay!"

"Alright then," Itachi said clearing his throat, "let's begin."

Sasuke merely nodded.

"Once upon a time, in a kingdom under the sea, there lived a beautiful mermaid whose name was-"Itachi paused struggling to remember.

Great! He thought miserably, I only just started and I have already forgotten the girl's name! What am I going to do now?

"So, what was her name?" Sasuke asked.

Itachi glanced around the room trying to find anything that might give him an idea for a name.

He failed, miserably.

He sighed. This just wasn't his day.

"Her name was Orochimaru," Itachi said. Ok, so it was creepy but it was the first name that had popped into his head.

Sasuke stared at him for a few moments trying to comprehend what his older brother had said.

"Her name was _Orochimaru_?" asked Sasuke.

"Uh…yes," answered Itachi realizing that the name did sound pretty ridiculous if you thought about it.

"Um…..ok…but isn't that a guy's name?" asked Sasuke.

Itachi sighed. Why did little kids have to ask so many questions?

"Yes, it is," answered Itachi.

"But aren't mermaids girls?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes, they are," Itachi replied calmly.

"But then-"

Sasuke was cut off by Itachi.

"Why don't we get on with the story?" he suggested.

"Ok…" said Sasuke, pouting. He didn't like it when people didn't answer his questions. It made him even more curious to know the answer.

"Anyway, Orochimaru lived with her father the sea king; her grandmother; and her six elder sisters, each born one year apart. Now, when a mermaid turns 15, she is allowed to swim to the surface to watch the world above, and as the sisters become old enough, one of them visits the surface every year. As each of them returns, Orochimaru listens longingly to their various descriptions of the surface and of human beings."

Itachi paused and looked at Sasuke. Much to his surprise, Sasuke was actually paying attention. Now, most people do tend to pay attention when someone tells them a story but when a six year old wanna be ninja pays attention, this is actually a very big thing since everyone knows that little six year old boys have an attention span of less than sixty seconds.

"When Orochimaru's turn comes, she ventures to the surface, sees a ship with a handsome prince, and falls in love with him from a distance. A great storm hits, and Orochimaru saves the prince from a near-drowning. She delivers him unconscious to the shore near a temple. Here she waits until a young girl from the temple finds him. The prince never sees Orochimaru," Continued Itachi.

"Orochimaru asks her grandmother whether humans can live forever if they do not drown. The grandmother explains that humans have a much shorter lifespan than merfolk's 300 years, but that when mermaids die they turn to sea foam and cease to exist, while humans have an eternal soul that lives on in Heaven. The Little Mermaid, longing for the prince and an eternal soul, eventually visits the Sea Witch, who sells her a potion that gives her legs, in exchange for her tongue (as Orochimaru has the most intoxicating voice in the world). Drinking the potion will make her feel as if a sword is being passed through her, yet when she recovers she will have two beautiful legs, and will be able to dance like no human has ever danced before. However, it will constantly feel like she is walking on sharp swords, and her feet will bleed most terribly. In addition, she will only get a soul if the prince loves her and marries her, for then a part of his soul will flow into her. Otherwise, at dawn on the first day after he marries another woman, Orochimaru will die brokenhearted and disintegrate into sea foam."

"Orochimaru drinks the potion and meets the prince, who is attracted to her beauty and grace even though she is mute. Most of all he likes to see her dance, and she dances for him despite her excruciating pain. When the prince's father orders his son to marry the neighboring king's daughter, the prince tells Orochimaru he will not, because he does not love the princess. He goes on to say he can only love the young woman from the temple, who he believes rescued him, but adds that the Orochimaru is beginning to take the temple girl's place in his heart. It turns out that the princess is the temple girl, who had been sent to the temple to be educated. The prince loves her and the wedding is announced."

"The prince and princess marry, and Orochimaru's heart breaks. She thinks of all that she has given up and of all the pain she has suffered. She despairs, thinking of the death that awaits her, but before dawn, her sisters bring her a knife that the Sea Witch has given them in exchange for their long hair. If Orochimaru slays the prince with the knife and lets his blood drip on her feet, she will become a mermaid again, all her suffering will end and she will live out her full life."

"Orochimaru cannot bring herself to kill the sleeping prince lying with his bride and, as dawn breaks, throws herself into the sea. Her body dissolves into foam and she is never heard of again."

Finally, Itachi finished the story. He mentally congratulated himself on managing to finish the story without making anymore mistakes. Perhaps he'd used a few words Sasuke might not have understood but overall, he was sure he must have understood the story.

He looked at Sasuke.

The little Uchiha looked perplexed.

"Sasuke is something wrong?" asked Itachi.

"She…she…di…_dies_?" Sasuke managed to choke out.

"Yes," answered Itachi.

He didn't see what the big deal was, people died all the time.

In fact, he'd seen so people die right in front of him in the Third Great Shinobi World War but that wasn't really a memory he wanted to dwell over so he returned his attention to Sasuke.

Much to Itachi's shock, the little boy was sobbing silently.

"That's so sad Onii-san," Sasuke said between sobs.

Itachi groaned inwardly, the last thing he wanted to do was make Sasuke cry. Not only did it make him feel like a very bad person seeing the adorable little Uchiha with the large black eyes and duck butt hair cry, his mother would screw him if she found out that he was responsible for it.

To put it simply, Itachi had to take drastic action, and fast.

"Sasuke, please don't cry," Itachi requested.

The little Uchiha continued to sob.

"Sasuke, if you stop crying, I'll give you cookies," Itachi offered.

Still no change.

Itachi sighed. If there was one thing he couldn't do, it was console children. It wasn't that hard a job but Itachi simply couldn't do it yet he had to try. He_ had _to.

"Sasuke, I was just joking," Itachi said trying a new approach, "Orochimaru doesn't die, she-"

Sasuke perked up at this.

"She doesn't die?" he asked hopefully wiping away his tears.

"No, she doesn't," Itachi said with a sigh of relief, happy that Sasuke had stopped crying.

"Well then what happens? If she doesn't die how does the story end?" asked Sasuke.

"Uh….Well…..uh…the prince realizes he doesn't like the other girl after all and so he marries Orochimaru instead," Itachi answered.

There, a nice happy ending! Sasuke couldn't complain, could he?

"That's lame, Onii-san!" Sasuke ridiculed, "What he just happens to realize he doesn't like the princess and marries Orochimaru instead? Speaking of which, why is her name Orochimaru again? I don't like this story! Not if it ends so lamely!" Sasuke declared folding his little arms across his chest.

Itachi sighed.

_Well_, he thought _that was a quick change of mood_.

He glanced briefly at Sasuke, the little Uchiha did not look happy. He may have managed to get him to stop crying but that mean if he was off the hook. Sasuke, as it was plainly obvious, was not satisfied and if he wasn't satisfied, he wasn't going to be sleeping anytime soon.

For a moment, Itachi considered giving in. He could just walk out now and let Sasuke stay awake until his parents came home and Mikoto put him to bed. It would be much simpler than having to put up with the little Uchiha's story demands.

But then again even if he did attempt that, Sasuke would probably that 'cute' face of his and Itachi wouldn't be able to refuse.

So, having no choice, Itachi shifted in the chair he was sitting on beside Sasuke's bed and said, "Why don't I tell you another story?"

At this, Sasuke smiled a smile that could probably have brought about world peace.

"Thank you, Onii-san! You rock!" he said and snuggled in his blanket to listen to the story.

_Wow_, thought Itachi thought once more, _his moods to change quite quickly, don't they?_

And with that, he got started on the last fairytale he knew.

**well, that's all for now! i'll try and update faster! i've got the next chapter planned out so it shouldn't take too long.**

**Sasuke (making cute puppy dog face) - please review?**

**=P**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok, here's the third chapter! Yay! Writing this story is really fun! I'd like to thank anyone who reviewed for reviewing. =D seriously, thanks!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own naruto…WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**

Chapter 3 – Goldilocks and the three bears

"Once upon a time, in a funny little cottage, built in the trunk of a tree, there lived three bears. Tou-san bear, Kaa-san bear and baby bear-chan. They woke up early one morning and decided to go for a walk before breakfast," Began Itachi.

Yes, goldilocks and the three bears was the last fairytale Itachi knew. It was also the one that would probably satisfy Sasuke the best. It didn't contain any princesses and had a nice happy ending! Sasuke couldn't possibly find anything to complain about.

Itachi looked at his outoto. So far, he didn't seem to have any complains and looked quite satisfied if not interested. Taking this as an encouraging sign, Itachi continued.

"'The porridge is too hot to eat,' said Kaa-san bear, 'it will have cooled down by the time we get back.' " said Itachi, his voice as monotonous as ever.

At this, Sasuke frowned.

"Why does Kaa-san bear sound like she's giving a speech at someone's funeral?" questioned the little Uchiha, "shouldn't she sound…uh..happier?"

Itachi smacked his forehead. He would have preferred hitting his head against the wall but this would cause Sasuke to think he was losing it which he was because of his complaints but there was really no need for Sasuke to worry about his brother's mental health especially since it was his fault if Itachi threw himself off a cliff by the time this was over.

Itachi loved his outoto, he really did but sometimes he just took things too far. Itachi was here to tell Sasuke a story not to act it out for him which was clearly what he was expecting but it wasn't like he had a choice.

He sighed and continued; "Now a girl named Goldilocks had also awakened early. 'I'll go for a walk in the woods,' she said" said Itachi trying to make his voice sound as girly and high pitched as possible.

Unfortunately for him it came out sounding like he was a drowning cat.

Sasuke seemed satisfied though so Itachi continued.

"She wandered a long way through the trees until she came to the bears' cottage. 'What a funny little house!" she said, 'I wonder who lives there?' she knocked on the door, but as there was no answer, she peeped inside."

"The kitchen table was set ready for breakfast. There were all sorts of delicacies, laid out including three bowls of steaming hot porridge: big, middle-sized and small."

"Goldilocks was quite hungry after her walk through the forest so she went up to the table and tasted the porridge in the largest bowl. 'Oh!' she cried, 'too much salt! I can't eat that.'"

Itachi mentally groaned as he told this part. Did girls have to shriek so much? Now he sounded like a drowning cat that was having its back shaved at the same time!

Sighing, he continued.

"So she tried the middle-sized bowl. This was very sugary and, after a few spoonfuls, she decided that although she was so fond of sugar, this was too sweet. So she decided to try the last and smallest bowl of porridge and it was so tasty she finished the whole bowl."

"Then she looked around the kitchen. There were three chairs, big, middle-sized and small, so Goldilocks tried them all. First she sat in the big chair but it was too big for her. The middle-sized chair was immensely uncomfortable for it was rather swift and hard. Lastly, she tried the small chair. It was the right size but Goldilocks was much too heavy, one leg broke off and she tumbled to the floor."

"Goldilocks was a very inquisitive girl and now that she had seen the kitchen, she was curious to know what was upstairs. There was a long, winding staircase, so up she went and found her self in an oddly shaped bedroom. It was small yet cozy looking and in the room were three beds. Big, middle-sized and small just the same as everything else in the house."

"Now, Goldilocks had woken very early that morning and she had had a long walk. She was very tired so she decided to lie down in the big blue bed for a few minutes. The bed was comfortable but so soft that she was smothered by it. The middle-sized bed was so hard she couldn't feel comfortable which-ever way she turned. So she decided to try the little bed. This was just the right size, not too soft and not too hard and very soon Goldilocks had snuggled down and was fast asleep."

"As she was sleeping, the three bears came home.

'Someone's been eating my porridge,' growled the Tou-san bear.

'Someone's been eating my porridge,' said the Kaa-san bear.

'Someone's been eating my porridge and they ate it all up!' cried the Baby bear-chan.

'Someone's been sitting in my chair,' growled the Tou-san bear.

'Someone's been sitting in my chair,' said the Kaa-san bear.

'Someone's been sitting in my chair and they've broken it all to pieces,' cried the Baby bear-chan.

They decided to look around some more and when they got upstairs to the bedroom, Tou-san bear growled, 'Someone's been sleeping in my bed,'

'Someone's been sleeping in my bed, too' said the Kaa-san bear.

'Someone's been sleeping in my bed and she's still there!' exclaimed Baby bear-chan.

Just then, Goldilocks woke up and saw the three bears. She screamed, "Help!" And she jumped up and ran out of the room. Goldilocks ran down the stairs, opened the door, and ran away into the forest. And she never returned to the home of the three bears."

Once Itachi was done, he sighed in relief. Finally, oh finally, the story telling was done! He didn't even care about the mission anymore. All he wanted to do was go to his room where it was nice and quiet and get some s-

However, sadly for Itachi, this was not the case because his wondrous thoughts were very rudely interrupted by his dear outoto.

"What kind of story was that?" the little Uchiha questioned, "The villain gets away in the end! I thought villains are supposed to die and then the heroes of the story are supposed to live happily ever after."

Itachi stared disbelievingly at Sasuke.

The little boy had to be kidding him!

"v-villain?" asked Itachi trying to compose himself, "Why whatever do you mean by that?"

"What I mean Onii-san, is that Goldilocks is the villain, right? So how come she gets away?"

Itachi stared at Sasuke some more.

"Sasuke, there are no villains in this story. Goldilocks is not a villain. She is merely an overly inquisitive girl," explained Itachi trying to compose himself.

Sasuke pouted cutely.

"But she's mean! She eats baby bear-chan's porridge, breaks his chair and then sleeps in his bed! Shouldn't the bears eat her or something?" asked Sasuke.

Itachi stared at his brother in disbelief.

In the previous story, when the mermaid had died, he'd complained about the fact that it was really sad and that it should have had a happy ending and now he wanted the girl to die? Honestly, Itachi was confused if not irritated.

What kind of story did his brother want exactly?

As if no cue, Sasuke said, "I don't like this story, Onii-san. Tell me another one."

"No," said Itachi. He'd had it! He was sick of telling Sasuke stories just to have them rejected! And he was sick of Sasuke's petty complains!

He wasn't going to sit in his brother's room one more minute. He was leaving the room right this very second!

Unfortunately for Itachi, things don't always go as planned and just as he was about to leave the room, he caught sight of Sasuke's face and his heart melted.

It looked adorable to say the least.

_Damn_, thought Itachi, _Why did Sasuke have to be adorable looking?_

Involuntarily, he plopped down back on the chair.

"yay!" said Sasuke clapping his little hands happily, "story!"

But even Sasuke's puppy dog face could only get him so far. Itachi had no intention of telling his brother a bedtime story. He simply wasn't going to do it. He was ready to explain to Sasuke in a nice and sweet way why not but he wasn't going to tell him a story. He couldn't and wasn't going to. He was completely out of fairytales and he knew that any other stories he might have probably wouldn't interest Sasuke.

"Look Sasuke, it's not that I don't want to tell you a story," he said while inside he was going, hell yes I don't, "it's that I can't. I don't know any stories."

Sasuke looked at his brother and smiled.

"So what Onii-san, why don't you just make one up? That's what Kaa-san always does!" said Sasuke.

Itachi was slightly appalled, he hadn't thought of that, making up a story? It wasn't a bad idea but he doubted he could do it but honestly, the real question was, did he want to do it?

He looked at Sasuke who just blinked innocently at him.

He sighed. Sasuke was too cute for his own good!

"Alright fine, I'll tell you another story," said Itachi and looked around miserably for inspiration.

**Well, that's it for now. Poor, poor itachi! You have to feel bad for the guy!**

**Pwease review!**

**=D  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**disclaimer: i totally own Naruto! yeah! (NOT)**

Chapter 4- making up your own story isn't as easy as it looks….

Recap:

"Alright fine, I'll tell you another story," said Itachi and looked around miserably for inspiration.

The only problem was that finding inspiration for a story in a six year old's bedroom wasn't that simple. Itachi glanced around the room quickly trying to find something, anything that would inspire him.

But unfortunately for him, his efforts were all in vain for there was simply nothing in Sasuke's room that could possibly inspire unless you could possibly find inspiration in toy dinosaurs which said '**rawr! It means I love you in dinosaur**' when you pressed their tummies, toy shurikens or dirty socks which for some reason were quite abundant in Sasuke's room.

Itachi sighed. _It's pointless!_ He though miserably, _I'm never going to find anything-_

He stopped mid-thought because just then, his eyes fell on a painting in Sasuke's room. It wasn't anything special. Just an ordinary painting done in oil paints of a small hut in the middle of a forest surrounded by various trees with a small pond flowing outside it but for Itachi, this ordinary painting turned out to be the answer to all his problems for it inspired him.

Itachi smiled.

"Alright then, Sasuke," he said clearing his throat, "I've made up a story for you. Let's begin, shall we?"

Sasuke nodded.

"Once," he began, "in a small hut in the middle of a dense forest lived a young girl n-"Itachi stopped himself. It was probably better he didn't name her. He didn't want to give Sasuke a reason to complain. He could just stick to 'young girl' yes that would do nicely.

"Lived a young girl," he continued, "Now in this particular place in the forest, various trees bearing a wide variety of fruit grew in abundance."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in question. Where was nii-san going with this?

"There were apple trees and mango trees and plum trees and peach trees and banana trees and pomegranate trees," Itachi paused. "So, getting straight to the point, there were several trees bearing a large quantity of fruit."

"But you know what the best part was?" Itachi asked not bothering to lower his voice to a dramatic whisper.

"What?" Sasuke asked expecting something brilliant.

"Right at the corner of the hut grew a "Itachi didn't paused dramatically, "tomato tree." He said in a bored voice.

Sasuke's face fell. Ok, so he liked tomatoes but in a story there really wasn't anything special about a tomato tree growing in someone's garden. Besides, did tomatoes even grow on trees? He wondered.

Itachi looked at Sasuke expectantly. He had expected that at the tomato bit, Sasuke would squeal delightedly. It was true that tomatoes didn't grow on trees but he hardly doubted Sasuke knew that. Besides, it was story….it didn't matter if it didn't make sense. However, all the little Uchiha looked was bored if not disappointed.

Sighing Itachi continued. This whole making up your own story business was certainly hard….

"The young girl loved living in this marvelous place in the forest because there were so many trees there! And she loved fruit so she could eat any fruit she wanted at any time she wanted! The end," Itachi said hastily finishing up the story.

Sasuke gaped. That was it! That was the ending? That wasn't even a proper story? His nii-san maybe an excellent ninja but when it came to story telling he was pretty much hopeless….

Sasuke pouted, "Onii-san!" he growled, "that was lame and you know it!"

Itachi sighed. _So it wasn't exactly the most creative or interesting story in the_ _world but at least he tried! Sasuke could appreciate that and let him be….but no… He had to make a big deal out of it!_ Itachi thought frustrated and also a little upset. It wasn't his fault he was so terrible at making up stories and it wasn't like he'd suggested it in the first place. The whole thing was Sasuke's idea….

"I can't believe it Onii-san! YOU TOLD ME A STORY ABOUT A GIRL WHO LIKES TO EAT FRUIT! WHO CARES ABOUT FRUIT ANYWAY?" Sasuke was shouting now.

Itachi cringed. He couldn't believe he had just got shouted at by his little brother….

"Well, Sasuke, I like fruit. It's very….edible," Itachi defended himself.

Sasuke glared, "What's your point Onii-san?"

"My point," Itachi said, "is that some people happen to like fruit so it really isn't very decent to criticize their choices."

"I'm not criti…..crimisizing anything! All I'm saying is that stories are supposed to be all about ninjas and pirates and filled with action and adventure! Not fruit!" he exclaimed banging his tiny fist on his palm.

Itachi stared. _Well!_

Then suddenly he had a brilliant idea…

"Alright Sasuke," Itachi said with a uncharacteristic smirk, "You want a story filled with action and adventure then so be it."

Sasuke frown eased and he looked at his brother expectantly.

Itachi smiled once more. _This was certainly going to be interesting….._

**OK, i hope you liked it! if you review, i'll let you glomp little Sasuke! pwease weview? ^w^**


	5. Chapter 5

**Discalimer- i don't own naruto.**

Recap:

"Alright Sasuke," Itachi said with a uncharacteristic smirk, "You want a story filled with action and adventure then so be it."

Sasuke frown eased and he looked at his brother expectantly.

Itachi smiled once more. _This was certainly going to be interesting….._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 5- scary stories**

There were a few moments of silence after that.

"So, Onii-san," Sasuke said rudely interrupting the silence, "Tell me the story already!"

Itachi didn't reply. Instead he left his seat and walked over to the only window in Sasuke's room and stared outside it. The sky appeared to be covered with grey rainclouds and there was no doubt that a storm would hit soon. In fact, Itachi could already hear claps of thunder in the distance and if he wasn't mistaken that was a flash of light in the sky just now. Itachi smiled. It was a hardly noticeable smile, merely a twitch of his lips but the point is, he smiled. Actually no, that's not the point. The point is that Itachi's smile wasn't a smile of amusement or happiness. Oh no….his smile was _evil_. Ok, so maybe I'm exaggerating but the fact is that his smile was one of a man….adolescent about to do grave wrong. You could say that this was the part in the horror movie where the villain laughs demonically as he is about to gain his long awaited revenge while claps of thunder are heard in the background but we all know that Itachi would never laugh demonically so let's just get on with the story….

"Come on, Onii-san!" Sasuke whined, "Quit staring out the window and tell me the story already!"

Itachi turned his head slightly to look at Sasuke. He stared at him for a few moments before answering as if lost in thought.

"Oh….right….of course…." Itachi said snapping out of his trance and resuming his position on the chair beside Sasuke's bed.

Sasuke smiled. _Finally!_ He thought. The delay had made him a lot more curious to hear the story…..he just hoped it would be good and not about something lame like fruit…..

Itachi cleared his throat, "Once a long, long time ago in Konoha, a man was riding home on a horse on a particularly dark and stormy night."

"In fact," Itachi continued, "You could say it was a night just like this one."

Thunder clapped and Lightning flashed outside as if emphasizing Itachi's point.

Sasuke looked at the window startled. Could his Onii-san possibly have…..? _Don't be a baka! _Sasuke scolded himself; _of course Onii-san didn't do that! It_ _always_ _gets stormy this time of year_…but the little Uchiha failed to fully reassure himself and so just to be safe, he wrapped his blanket more tightly around himself.

Itachi tried to hide his smirk.

"As the man made his way through the dark and dense forest towards his home, he heard someone call his name in the distance. He stopped. 'Who's there?' he called. There was no reply. He waited a few more minutes before heading out again. _Probably just my imagination_, he thought as he continued riding home." Itachi continued.

Itachi paused and looked at Sasuke. He looked a little pale. He also noticed that Sasuke had grabbed his tomato plushie (the one with the big brown eyes which sang a ridiculous song about tomatoes when you squeezed it in the most annoying voice ever.) and seemed to be clutching it quite tightly. Itachi's eye twitched slightly at the sight of the plushie. He hated that thing. He planned on burning it one day…but right now he had to focus on telling Sasuke a story.

"So as the man continued his ride home, he heard the voice again, just like before, it called his name. He stopped and looked over his shoulder, 'Who's there?" he yelled. There was no reply. No sound except that of his voice echoing."

Sasuke looked deathly pale now and was nervously biting his lip. "So…..w- what happened next?" he asked.

"The same thing continued for quite some time until finally the man tired of listening to the voice call him over and over again and thought that if he followed the voice and asked what it wanted, it would leave him alone," answered Itachi.

"Why'd he do that?" asked Sasuke, "W-who knows-"he trailed off.

"And so, the man went in the direction the voice led him only to realize a few seconds after he'd stopped that the voice had led him to the Konoha cemetery."

Sasuke gulped. Outside, it began to rain.

"Now, as the man stared at the looming cemetery in front of him, for the first time that night he began to feel frightened but despite his fear he slowly dismounted his horse and entered the cemetery. He'd hardly taken a step when he heard the voice call him once more. It was louder this time and seemed to be coming from everywhere. He would have run except before he even had a chance to react, behind him he heard a creaking sound and when he turned around he saw one of the graves in the cemetery was being opened."

Sasuke looked really scared now. He was trembling with fear and seemed to have huddled even deeper into his blanket. He was also nervously biting the stem of his tomato plushie.

"Is something the matter, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, "You wanted an action story, didn't you?"

Now the last thing Sasuke wanted was to look like a scardey cat in front of his Onii-san….so putting on the bravest face he possibly could under the circumstances he answered Itachi.

"N-nothing is wrong, Onii-san. I'm fine. Go on."

"Alright," Itachi said shrugging and continuing the story, "The man was frightened now. He wanted to scream and run for his life but his fear held him there. The man was frozen with terror. The grave continued to slowly open until finally the lid fell off with a loud thud revealing to the man what lay underneath."

"The man stared at the zombie-like creature that stood before him with wide terrified eyes. He dared not move for who knew? A single move could provoke the creature and the man, who was no idiot, knew for him that would mean instant death."

"The man's thoughts were interrupted when the creature, whatever it was let out a shrill piercing sound which sounded like a fanatical laugh revealing a row of rotten, black teeth and then_, it called the man's name_."

"Right after that the other graves began to open and pretty soon the man was surrounded by grinning zombie-like creatures. The man desperately tried to run but they stopped him by blocking his path. After a few more tries, the man realized his situation was hopeless and he stopped running and so the zombie-like creatures closed in on him and after calling out his name one more time they jumped on him and slowly began to tear him apart limb by limb…."

And so Itachi continued to describe this gory and bloody scene to a little six year old boy who was now scared out of his wits.

"And after that night the man was never heard of again," Itachi concluded the story.

Sasuke was on the verge of tears now. He looked terrified.

"And you know what the man's name was, Sasuke?"Itachi asked.

Sasuke shook his head.

"His name was…Sasuke."

The room fell silent.

A few minutes passed by and then…..

Sasuke lost it.

"ONII-SAN!"He cried jumping on to his brother's face, "They're coming! They're going to come and eat me!"

"Sasuke, please remove yourself from my face," Itachi requested as calmly as ever.

"But they'll eat you!" Sasuke protested hugging his brother's face.

"Don't be silly; Sasuke," Itachi chastised Sasuke, "They're not going to eat anyone. Nor you, nor I for the simple reason that they do not exist."

"But you said!"

"It was just a story Sasuke. There's no need to be afraid. You wanted an action story, correct? Well, that's all it was. It never happened and is never going to."

Sasuke didn't say anything for a moment. Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"NO!" Sasuke yelled, "You're lying, Nii-san! You're lying just to make me feel better."

Itachi sighed frustrated. He could see that his plan was falling apart which was just sad since it had been a pretty simple plan in the first place.

Itachi may be the worst story-teller in the world but he wasn't stupid. He knew Sasuke would be afraid when he told him this story even though he found it highly unrealistic and absurd. He's figured that Sasuke after hearing the story would probably be too scared to ask for another one and would probably go to sleep like a good little boy but unfortunately for Itachi, it didn't look like Sasuke was going to be sleeping anytime soon…..

"Onii-san!" Sasuke yelled who'd apparently been ranting about taking defensive measures or something like that, "Are you listening to me?"

"Uh…..of course Sasuke. What is it?" Itachi asked.

"Let's go."

"Go where?"

Sasuke didn't answer instead he jumped off Itachi's face and tucked his tomato plushie under his arm and then grabbed Itachi's hand. Before Itachi could protest he dragged him out of the room and into the kitchen.

"What are you doing, Sasuke?" Itachi asked.

Sasuke didn't reply instead he grabbed two cooking pots that were sitting on the counter and put one over his own head and the other one over his brother's.

"There," he said, "Now they won't eat our faces…I hope….."

Itachi couldn't help but smile at the cuteness of his brother's actions. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke…he thought.

"Alright then….Why don't we go back to your room?" asked Itachi ruffling Sasuke's hair.

Sasuke nodded, "Ok…."

Itachi smiled again and took his brother back to his room where Sasuke hugging his tomato plushie jumped right into bed and yawned sleepily.

"Tired?" Itachi asked a hint of a smile in his voice.

Sasuke nodded rubbing his eye sleepily.

"Alright then….I guess I'll be going now…." Itachi said getting up to leave.

"Wait!" Sasuke cried.

Itachi halted and turned his head back to look at Sasuke.

"What? Is something wrong?"

"No…..just please stay….Onii-san…." Sasuke requested.

Itachi sighed, "I suppose I could..."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Finally!_ Thought Itachi as he stared at the sleeping Sasuke in front of him, _he'd done the impossible! He'd gotten his little brother to go to bed._

Itachi yawned. _And now time for me to get some sleep_…he thought.

Itachi yawned again and left his seat and started to tip-toe out of the room (so as to not wake Sasuke up) when his foot hit something solid and….hard. Itachi cringed slightly as pain shot up his leg.

"Ouch," he yelled/whispered grabbing his foot. He looked down to see the source of his injury, a bowling ball.

"What the-"Itachi voiced aloud.

Behind him, Sasuke stirred. Itachi froze. Oh no…..NO! no! no! no! Please don't let him wake up, he prayed. Luckily for him, his prayer was answered as Sasuke mumbling something about training went back to sleep.

Itachi sighed. Thank goodness, he thought and continued to tip-toe out of the room but in his relief, he forgot all about the bowling bowl and this time, hit his other foot on it.

"Ouch," he whispered once more trying to ignore the pain in his leg while wondering why the hell Sasuke had a bowling ball in his room in the first place…

Deciding that didn't matter at the moment, he side-stepped it and continued tip-toeing towards the door which wasn't easy considering the agony his feet were in but he managed. He was ITACHI after all….but the moment he reached his room, he forgot all about the pain his feet were in and the fact that he had a saucepan on his head when he noticed how inviting his bed looked and so the moment his head hit his pillow fell into a deep and restful sleep. One which he truly deserved.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Meanwhile, Mikoto and Fugaku finally made it home from their little trip.

"We're home," Mikoto called.

There was no reply.

Fugaku raised an eyebrow, "They're asleep already?"

"It seems like it…"Mikoto said doubtfully. She's figured Itachi would be asleep but Sasuke? The boy simply refused to sleep without a bedtime story and Mikoto was fully aware that Itachi needed to work on socializing with children even if he was a child himself….so how had he managed?

Slowly, Mikoto made her way to both her son's rooms. First Sasuke and then Itachi.

"They're both asleep," she mused as she closed Itachi's bedroom's door.

"They're both also wearing saucepans on their heads," Fugaku grunted.

Mikoto gave him a skeptical look, "Do we really want to know?"

Fugaku just shook his head ever so slightly in response.

**okay...thats the end...i guess..actually...not really...i'm going to right an epilogue...XD! and then the story ends! **

**ok, if you're going to add my story to your favorites...please review...i'm not asking for a rant or anything just a couple of words as to why you like my story...it's not necessary but it would be appreciated. XD!**

**ok...thats all...**


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